Imperialism
Chapter 12
Chapter Focus
• How did Western industrial
powers gain global empires?
Section One
• Section Focus Question:
– How did Western nations come to
dominate much of the world in
the late 1800’s?
How?
• The Industrial Revolution
transformed the west
– Advances in technology &
science, industry, transportation,
& communication
– New economic & political power
Motivation
• Imperialism- the domination
by one country of the political,
economic, and/or cultural life
of another country or region
– Began in the Americas after 1492,
south Asia, costal Africa & China
as part of exploration/trade
• Economic Interests Spur
Expansion
– Industrial Revolution- required
natural resources such as rubber,
petroleum, manganese for steel,
palm oil for machinery
– New markets for manufactured
goods
– New investments
– Colonies for a growing population
• Political & Military Motives
– Naval bases needed to protect merchant
ships
– Nationalism (strong pride in one’s
nation) led countries to halt other
countries expansion
• Ex. When France moved into West Africa,
Britain & Germany took the surrounding land
to stop France from expanding further
– Colonies were needed for national
security- according to leaders
– A global empire increased a country’s
prestige (the power to impress or
influence because of success or wealth)
• Humanitarian & Religious Goals
– Belief in the duty to spread ‘blessings
of western civilization’ including
medicine, law, & Christianity
• Applying Social Darwinism
– Growing sense of racial superiority
– Applying Darwin (survival of the fittest
& natural selection) to humans
– Europeans were superior to all others
imperialism was a nature’s way of
improving humans
• Checkpoint Question
– What factors contributed to
European imperialism in the
1800’s?
Why so quickly?
– From 1870-1914 European countries
gained control over much of the world
• Weakness of non-Western States
– Several older civilizations were on the
decline (Ottoman Empire, Middle East,
Mughal India, China)
– In West Africa- wars among people and
the damaging effects of the slave trade.
• Western Advantages
– Strong economies, well-organized
governments, powerful armies &
navies
– Superior technology- steam
engines, telegraph, medical
knowledge (quinine & other
medicines protected Europeans
from tropical diseases)
– Military technology- Maxim
machine gun, repeating rifles,
steam-driven warships
Anyone against
imperialism?
• Africans & Asians resisted
– Fought invaders
– Tried to strengthen societies by reforming
traditions
– Organized nationalist movements to expel
Europeans
• Criticism at home
– Anti-imperialists
• Imperialism was a tool of the rich, immoral- how
can you impose undemocratic rule on countries
when you are becoming more democratic at
home?
• Checkpoint Question
– How did Western imperialism
spread through Africa & Asia so
quickly?
Forms of imperialism
• French- imposed direct rule sending
officials & soldiers to administer
colonies & impose French culture
• British- indirect rule- used local
rulers, encouraged education in
Britain of children of ruling classes
to groom future leaders
• Protectorate- when local rulers
were left in place but were
expected to follow the advice
of European advisors on issues
such as trade or missionary
activity
• Sphere of Influence- an area in
which an outside power
claimed exclusive investment
or trading privileges
• Section One Quick Write:
– Pretend you are writing a
persuasive paper arguing against
Imperialism. Write a thesis
statement for your essay.
The Partition of Africa
• Section Focus Question:
– How did imperialist European
powers claim control over much
of Africa by the end of the
1800’s?
What did the Europeans
do to Africa?
• Carved it up among major
European nations (Map p. 395)
• Natural resources
– Took what they needed or could
sell (gold, silver, copper, oil,
diamonds, other minerals)
• Treatment of people
– Converted to Christianity, taught language
of European country, in some cases
exploited workers, killed locals in
resistance battles (ex. The Boer War)
– British settled in South Africa setting up a
constitution that put whites in charge & a
system of complete racial segregation that
would last until 1993
• Free Nations
– Ethiopia- stayed independent
– Liberia (set up as settlements for former
slave by US) was independent by 1847
• Nationalism & freedom movements
– Strong by early 1900s
• Quick Write Assignment
– Make a list of arguments, either
pro or con, for European
colonization of Africa
Europeans in Muslim
regions
• Section Focus
– How did European nations extend
their power into Muslim regions
of the world?
Conditions in Muslim
world
• Empires in decline
• Reform movements added to
the decline
• Europeans won treaties giving
them favorable trading termsthen demanded special rights
for Europeans living in Muslim
lands
Problems in Ottoman
Empire
• Empire extended across North
Africa, SE Europe, Middle East
• Nationalist revolts broke out
• In Europe- Greeks, Serbs,
Bulgarians, Romanians gained
independence as well as Egypt
• European countries tried to take
more land away from Ottomans
• Many Ottoman rulers began
westernizing or adopting western
ideas
• Young Turks overthrew gov’t
• Armenian Genocide- Armenians are
Christians living mountainous
region of present-day Turkey
– Genocide- the deliberate attempt to
destroy a racial, political or cultural
group
– Turks accused the Armenians of
supporting Russian plans against the
empire. 10,000s were killed. Over
next 25 years between 600,000 and
1,000,000 were killed or died from
disease or starvation (many were
forced into the desert to die)
Egypt Modernizes
• It had modernized through
economic reforms, improved tax
collection, reorganizing landholding
systems, large irrigation projects to
improve farming, and built a welltrained, westernized army
• Suez Canal- built to connect the
Mediterranean & red Seas
– During the building Egypt became a
British protectorate
• Nationalists protested & rioted
British control
Persia
• Present-day Iran
• Attracted attention of Britain &
Russia when oil was
discovered
India
• British East India Company had
won trading rights in India
• Mughal Empire was collapsing
• Britain won control of India by
exploiting its diversity
– Different traditions, customs,
languages
– Brits encouraged competition b/w
regions- eventually the Brits gained
control
• Goal in India- make money- they
did build roads, preserve peace,
stops bandits on the roads
• Unpopular policies
– Forcing sepoys (Indian soldiers) into
service to serve anywhere in the British
empire (forcing Hindus overseas which
was against religion)
– Allowed Hindu widows to remarry
– New rifles required soldiers to bite off
tips of cartridges before loading (which
were greased w/ animal fat- either
cows or pigs- cows sacred to Hindus,
pigs forbidden to Muslims)
• Sepoys rebelled, ending w/ India
under direct British control
Other Reforms
• Introduced new transportation,
medicine, communication, & textile
machine-made textiles (which
ended the profitable hand-weaving
industry) forced farmers to grow
cash crops (crops that could be
sold)which led to deforestation
• Switch to cash crops & new
medicine led to famine
• Benefits of British rule- some
degree of peace, better transpo &
communication.
• Nationalist feelings grew
especially from those educated
in Britain (ideas of freedom &
democracy)
– Most Brits felt that Indian cultural
was not worth much
– Indian National Congress
– Muslim League
• Both talked of separation from
British rule. ML also wanted a
separate Muslim state
China
• In the past had a balance of trade
(balance b/w imports & exports)
– Western nations began tilting balance in
their favor
– China had a trade surplus (exporting
more than importing)
– European nations had a trade deficit
(importing more than exporting)
• Brits began trading opium for teaaddicting many Chinese in the
process and reversing the trade
situation
– China tried to stop the trade resulting w/
the Opium War
• Brits won and forced China to sign
an unequal treaty- China had to pay
Brits for war, Brits got Hong Kong,
China had to open 5 ports to trade
& Brits living in China followed
British laws & courts
(extraterritoriality)
• A second war w/ France, Russia, &
US ended w/ another unequal
treaty- opening more ports &
allowing Christian missionaries into
China
• Rebellion in China further
weakened government as did a
war w/ Japan
• Over the years China made
more & more concessions to
foreign nations & was in wars
w/ outsiders or itself
Japan M
New Global
Patterns
Chapter Focus
• How did political & economic
imperialism influence nations
around the world
Japan Modernizes
• Section Focus: how did Japan
become a modern industrial power
& what did it do with its new
strength?
• 1853- American Matthew Perry
entered Japanese port demanding
that Japan open its ports to trade
• US eventually won trade rights &
extraterritoriality
• Japan after many internal conflicts
adopts many western ideas &
began to industrialize very quickly
• Japan modernized so quickly &
efficiently that was strong
enough to build its own
overseas colonies & revise
unequal treaties
• Japan fought w/ China,
crushed Russia & took over
Korea
Southeast Asia &
Pacific
• Europeans carved up SEA & the
Pacific like they did Africa (p. 431)
• British- India, Burma, Malaya,
northern part of Borneo, Australia,
New Guinea
• Dutch- Sumatra, Borneo, Papua,
many smaller islands
• US- Philippines, Hawaii
• Germany & Portugal- small islands
or parts of islands
Self-Rule
• Canada, New Zealand,
Australia all achieved self-rule
from Britain
• All still have close ties to
Britain, similar constitutions to
the US (although women were
given right to vote much
earlier)